Calculator
How many months will your money last in Israel?
Your savings in shekels at a dated rate, the benefits you may receive in the months they actually arrive and your costs, month by month.
Before you calculate
What it works out
It converts your savings into shekels at a dated exchange rate, adds the benefits you may be eligible for in the months they actually arrive, adds any income from the month it starts, subtracts your monthly costs and shows how many months the money lasts. It runs entirely on your device.
What the timing rests on. In the Aliyahu Research review of recent olim stories, 2026, the 2 recent olim who stated it took about 5 to 6 months to land a local professional job, mostly through people rather than cold applications. Sal Klita is paid over months 1 to 7, and rental assistance only starts in month 7, so the benefits thin out at about the moment those job searches ended. Income that does not depend on Hebrew was the clearest pattern (7 of 25 interviews; not a proven cause). Savings were mentioned in only 1 of 75 stories.
Aliyahu Research review of recent olim stories, 2026, (an internal research file, not yet published). How Aliyahu Research works
The figures it uses, as recorded
| Currency | Shekels per unit |
|---|---|
| USD/ILS | ₪3.075 |
| EUR/ILS | ₪3.4417 |
| GBP/ILS | ₪4.0789 |
| CAD/ILS | ₪2.1624 |
Checked Confidence: medium, confirm before actingSources: Bank of Israel
At 3.075 shekels to the dollar, dollar savings buy about 17% fewer shekels than at the 2024 average of 3.699. A plan made with 2024 numbers in mind is short by that much before anything else goes wrong. Your bank will quote less than the representative rate.
| Sal Klita, On my own, paid over months 1 to 7 | ₪21,694 in total |
|---|---|
| Sal Klita, A couple, paid over months 1 to 7 | ₪41,359 in total |
| Rental assistance, a couple, standard area, months 7 to 30 | ₪659 a month |
| Rental assistance, a couple, priority area, months 7 to 36 | ₪2,000 a month |
Checked Confidence: medium, confirm before actingSources: Nefesh B'Nefesh: Sal Klita calculator, Nefesh B'Nefesh: Rental assistance
| Centre or Jerusalem area | ₪4,059–₪7,355 (₪5,404) |
|---|---|
| North or South, in a National Priority Area | ₪2,647–₪4,695 (₪3,231) |
Checked Confidence: medium, confirm before actingSources: Central Bureau of Statistics
Mixes signed-contract and asking-price figures. Replace it with the rent you expect to pay.
Who it applies to
Anyone planning aliyah who wants to see the money month by month before booking a flight. The result also shows a starting tier from the research: A is secured income and a cushion, B is one of the two and C is neither. In the podcast set every tier A and tier B guest was steady or thriving and the one tier C guest returned. The pattern is directional, not proven.
A caution on declarations: a foreign income you keep, a pension or support from abroad may affect some Israeli benefits, because some Bituach Leumi and Ministry benefits are means-tested. Declare them truthfully. This calculator does not model eligibility, so every benefit line is an estimate if eligible.
Worked example
A couple bringing $50,000 converts it at 3.075 to ₪153,750. With rent of ₪5,404 in the centre and the ₪6,000 placeholder for everything else, costs are ₪11,404 a month. Counting Sal Klita of ₪41,359 and rental assistance of ₪659 a month from month 7, with no income at all, the money covers 17 months. Add a net Israeli salary of ₪12,000 from month 6 and the money covers the whole 36-month line without reaching zero.
Plain arithmetic on the figures above. An illustration, not a personal quote.
Your own numbers go in the calculator below.
Before you rely on this
- An estimate, not financial advice. It works in flat shekels: no inflation, no investment returns and no exchange-rate moves after the date shown.
- Tax is not modelled. The 2026 exemption on Israeli earned income, filing in your origin country and foreign pensions all need an accountant who works with olim.
- Benefits are counted only if you are eligible. Sal Klita is spread evenly over its seven payments because no source publishes the size of the first payment.
- Money from abroad can take time to arrive, and some banks and countries limit transfers. Set the transfer month to when you realistically expect the money.
- The job timing rests on a small number of stated cases, and the tiers are a directional pattern, not a prediction about you.
Everything is calculated on your device. Nothing you enter is sent anywhere or saved.
Your runway
Months your money covers
17
On this plan the balance goes below zero in month 18.
Starting balance ₪153,750. Monthly costs ₪11,404.
An estimate in flat shekels at the rate you set, not financial advice.
Your balance, month by month
Early patternThe job-timing band rests on 2 stated cases (2023 or 2024 arrivals), not a measured average.
Show the month-by-month table
| Month | Start | Benefits | Income and transfers | Costs | End |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | ₪153,750 | ₪5,908 | ₪0 | −₪11,404 | ₪148,254 |
| 2 | ₪148,254 | ₪5,908 | ₪0 | −₪11,404 | ₪142,759 |
| 3 | ₪142,759 | ₪5,908 | ₪0 | −₪11,404 | ₪137,263 |
| 4 | ₪137,263 | ₪5,908 | ₪0 | −₪11,404 | ₪131,768 |
| 5 | ₪131,768 | ₪5,908 | ₪0 | −₪11,404 | ₪126,272 |
| 6 | ₪126,272 | ₪5,908 | ₪0 | −₪11,404 | ₪120,777 |
| 7 | ₪120,777 | ₪6,567 | ₪0 | −₪11,404 | ₪115,940 |
| 8 | ₪115,940 | ₪659 | ₪0 | −₪11,404 | ₪105,195 |
| 9 | ₪105,195 | ₪659 | ₪0 | −₪11,404 | ₪94,450 |
| 10 | ₪94,450 | ₪659 | ₪0 | −₪11,404 | ₪83,705 |
| 11 | ₪83,705 | ₪659 | ₪0 | −₪11,404 | ₪72,960 |
| 12 | ₪72,960 | ₪659 | ₪0 | −₪11,404 | ₪62,215 |
| 13 | ₪62,215 | ₪659 | ₪0 | −₪11,404 | ₪51,470 |
| 14 | ₪51,470 | ₪659 | ₪0 | −₪11,404 | ₪40,725 |
| 15 | ₪40,725 | ₪659 | ₪0 | −₪11,404 | ₪29,980 |
| 16 | ₪29,980 | ₪659 | ₪0 | −₪11,404 | ₪19,235 |
| 17 | ₪19,235 | ₪659 | ₪0 | −₪11,404 | ₪8,490 |
| 18 | ₪8,490 | ₪659 | ₪0 | −₪11,404 | −₪2,255 |
| 19 | −₪2,255 | ₪659 | ₪0 | −₪11,404 | −₪13,000 |
| 20 | −₪13,000 | ₪659 | ₪0 | −₪11,404 | −₪23,745 |
| 21 | −₪23,745 | ₪659 | ₪0 | −₪11,404 | −₪34,490 |
| 22 | −₪34,490 | ₪659 | ₪0 | −₪11,404 | −₪45,235 |
| 23 | −₪45,235 | ₪659 | ₪0 | −₪11,404 | −₪55,980 |
| 24 | −₪55,980 | ₪659 | ₪0 | −₪11,404 | −₪66,725 |
| 25 | −₪66,725 | ₪659 | ₪0 | −₪11,404 | −₪77,470 |
| 26 | −₪77,470 | ₪659 | ₪0 | −₪11,404 | −₪88,215 |
| 27 | −₪88,215 | ₪659 | ₪0 | −₪11,404 | −₪98,960 |
| 28 | −₪98,960 | ₪659 | ₪0 | −₪11,404 | −₪109,705 |
| 29 | −₪109,705 | ₪659 | ₪0 | −₪11,404 | −₪120,450 |
| 30 | −₪120,450 | ₪659 | ₪0 | −₪11,404 | −₪131,195 |
| 31 | −₪131,195 | ₪0 | ₪0 | −₪11,404 | −₪142,599 |
| 32 | −₪142,599 | ₪0 | ₪0 | −₪11,404 | −₪154,003 |
| 33 | −₪154,003 | ₪0 | ₪0 | −₪11,404 | −₪165,407 |
| 34 | −₪165,407 | ₪0 | ₪0 | −₪11,404 | −₪176,811 |
| 35 | −₪176,811 | ₪0 | ₪0 | −₪11,404 | −₪188,215 |
| 36 | −₪188,215 | ₪0 | ₪0 | −₪11,404 | −₪199,619 |
Your starting tier: B
All 8 tier B guests in 25 recent interviews were steady or thriving.
Secured income: an Israeli job secured before arrival or income you keep from abroad, converted to shekels and at least 50% of monthly costs; an expected job does not count yet. Cushion: savings plus money still to transfer covering 12 months of costs or more; benefits do not count. A directional pattern, not a prediction about you.